


Healing Touch

by FunkyinFishnet



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: Brownies, Cuddling and Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Friendship, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-19
Updated: 2011-06-19
Packaged: 2017-10-20 13:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyinFishnet/pseuds/FunkyinFishnet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julianne hates the recovery time after her season 7 operation, even with her friend's help and caring, and it takes a special someone to help her deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Julianne's operation midway during season 7 provided inspiration and then they all started talking to me! I hope you all enjoy it :)

Julianne was bored.

It had only been a week since her operation, but she was way past the stage of needing to sleep all the time now. There was only so much confinement she could handle.

She was already planning how she was going to get Mark to take her into rehearsals. It just so happened that one of her visitors had brought a box of the dark chocolates she didn’t like but Mark loved. Julianne grinned; she had the best friends ever.

Derek had dropped off a ton of puzzle books, the kind they’d loved on journeys between competitions when they were kids. He’d even included a colouring book and crayons like the ones they used to fight over. Julianne had coloured the pony picture in pink and purple glitter. Derek totally ruined all the good karma he’d built up by making a crack about her mental age, causing an all-out crayon war. Julianne was still fishing them out of her bedclothes.

Still, Derek had brought her the chocolates, though he’d claimed they were a present from Shannon. But Shannon had come to visit with presents of her own – some really pretty flowers that matched the colours of Julianne’s room and a deck of cards.

“There’s a lot of tricks I can teach you.” Shannon had smiled and sat with Julianne for hours giving her pointers.

Best present ever. Derek had beaten her the last few times they’d played poker and he never let her forget it. Shannon had already organised a game for next week.

Mark brought DVDs and popcorn so they could have movie days like they did on the tour bus and updated her ipod with new music every time he visited. Sabrina brought roses and gave Julianne a really good manicure and pedicure. That afternoon had been a lot of fun. They’d planned a lot of clothes shopping for the future and plotted together in a way that worried Mark.

Adam sent her a weird rubber thing that apparently helped you use the bathroom after surgery. It looked kind of scary, but it made Julianne smile. She called into his radio show to thank him. He tried to get her to say silly mean things about the other dancers and the judges and she tried not to laugh because it hurt.

It was really difficult to resist poking at the bandages that covered her scar. Julianne had never been able to leave injuries alone. Like the first time Derek dropped her, it took her twice as long to heal because she had to chase after him when he called her ‘gimpy’. Then Corky pointed out the sooner she healed, the sooner she could kick her brother’s ass. That helped a lot and she totally showed him up in the first rehearsal she was strong enough to dance in.

Cody called every day with training updates and mailed her ridiculous backstage Polaroids. Everyone wrote messages on them and waved and blew her kisses. Sometimes it helped, sometimes it made her frustrated and curse her stupid appendix for choosing now to short out. Last year would have been better timing.

So Julianne was bored and starting to get cranky. It didn’t help that Derek promised her a surprise present and then refused to give her any clues. Shannon was sworn to secrecy and told Julianne she was going to love it. Julianne pelted Derek with crayons again.

Then one day, after she’d had a check-up and been allowed to move onto the couch as long as she kept on taking her medications regularly, and was enjoying this tiny slice of wonderful freedom when the door opened. Someone was using a key. It couldn’t be Derek, he’d been over in the morning with waffles as a bribe so he could bounce routine ideas off her. Mark and Sabrina were away together and Corky was teaching.

“Are you actually _resting_?!”

Julianne sat bolt upright and then winced, hand to her bandages. That had been a bad idea, but her heart was thumping happily and Apolo was stood in the doorway to her lounge.

“Are you actually here?”

Apolo laughed, his eyes crinkling in that adorable way Julianne loved and had missed more than she was going to admit to, and came closer. Julianne punched his arm as soon as he was in reach.

“Ow!”

“It really is you.”

“You’re such a maniac!” Apolo rubbed his arm. “Seriously, who does that?!”

Julianne smiled beatifically as her eyes zeroed in on the carton he held in his other hand. “Are those brownies?”

“Have you taken your meds?”

“Yes, Dad.” Julianne held out her hand. “Now gimme!”

The brownies tasted excellent and Apolo sat beside her, an arm casually around her shoulders. Julianne’s fingers tightened around his. His daily phone calls and dorky texts had been awesome, but they hadn’t been enough.

“So how’re you feeling?”

“It only hurts when I laugh,” Julianne pouted. “And I’m so bored!”

“Seriously?” Apolo raised his eyebrows and gestured to the books heaped next to the couch and the DVDs by the TV and the notepad covered in routine notes. “You’re bored?”

“Yes!” He was laughing at her, but she smiled at him giddily and it wasn’t because of the meds. “God, I’m so bored! I need to get back in there. If Cody gets eliminated before I get the chance to…….”

“Wow, I didn’t think it was possible, but you’ve actually become even more of a control freak!”

She frogged him again and hey, did he notice those two shiny mirror ball trophies she had and didn’t his always-right super-talented dance partner help him win the identical one that he boasted about? She couldn’t escape when he tickled her feet mercilessly. His hand covered her bandages and she didn’t feel the pain. Whatever he saw in her expression made him draw her closer, tucking her body against his protectively. He also answered her silent question.

“I’ve got time.”

Julianne smiled against his neck. Maybe she could stay still for a little longer, now that Apolo was around.

 _-end_


End file.
